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Le Calandre

Rubano

Where culinary innovation meets Italian soul

On the Pass

Massimiliano Alajmo

Taste of history: To dine at Le Calandre is to take a bite out of Italian culinary history. Chef Massimiliano and maître d’ Raffaele Alajmo – brothers Max and Raf – took over their parents’restaurant in 1994, and over the last three decades, have not only turned it into an icon of gastronomic innovation, but also into the cornerstone of the Alajmo Group, which now includes 12 restaurants across three countries.

Devil’s in the details: The multi-sensory experience begins with the design. In the sleek, dimly lit dining room, tables are carved from a single 300-year-old ash tree. Each becomes a stage for the performance to come, spotlighted by sculptural lamps by designer Davide Groppi. There are no tablecloths here: the table itself is Massimiliano’s canvas, and even the striking, hand-blown water glasses are marked with the chef’s own fingerprint.

Art on the plate: Massimiliano’s tireless creativity means the three tasting menus are constantly shifting, with inspiration coming from seasonal produce, his passion for art and a child-like curiosity. The innovative Cuttlefish Cappuccino, first created in the late 1990s, has been reinvented as Cappuccino Murrina, a tribute to Venice’s glass-blowing heritage in the form of potato and chive cream with cuttlefish and sea urchin, finished with vibrantly red beetroot and deeply green spirulina. In its 2.0 version, Risotto Passi d’Oro is a homage to Roberto Barni’s sculpture at the Uffizi in Florence, with its golden hue from saffron and boldness from black liquorice recalling the statue’s contrasts of light and darkness.

About dessert: Chef elevates the final chapter of the meal with playful precision. An innovative cassata might be served alongside earplugs – a sensory experiment that plunges the diner into a world of pure crunch and flavour – or a shiny mozzarella ball might reveal itself as a glass-like shell of egg whites, honey and sugar encasing a delicately sweet almond foam.

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